Josh Gordon has sat out the first 10 games of the Cleveland Browns (6-4) season as they have had more success than they have in a long time. With Jordan Cameron still out with a concussion, this might be the happiest that Brian Hoyer has been all season, to have a vertical weapon in the passing game. Right now Andrew Hawkins and Josh Gordon and the passing game will be huge against an Atlanta Falcons defense that has struggled all year. Also, this welcome back game for Josh Gordon is the Browns can get a win without Ben Tate game. But is the best receiver on the field playing for the Browns? or is it the player that the Browns could have drafted when they traded down with the Falcons when they took Julio Jones? That is a great debate and this game should at least get a focus on that part of the game.
But in reality, the Falcons (4-6) have struggled mightily this season. Their offensive line has been gutted by injuries and there is not much more that fans can hope for other than to host a playoff game against a powerhouse wild card team, and then to be possibly blown out anyway. But the Falcons can say that they are coming into this game off of back-to-back wins against both the Carolina Panthers (19-17) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (27-17) the last two weeks after their bye, and those were both on the road. The Falcons don't really have much of a rushing game as they have thrown for three times as many yards as they have rushed for this year. In fact, Julio Jones has 912 receiving yards this season, and the Falcons only have rushed for 961 yards.
Despite the fact that the Falcons have won two in a row and that the Browns have played some goofy games this year, including their loss to the Jaguars, this writer sees this game as not much of a competition, despite the fact that both teams are playing for playoff position within their division. The Browns just have a more well rounded offense and the Falcons defense has too many issues for them to be taken seriously. Also, Joe Haden will match up with Julio Jones which should at least slow down the Falcons best offensive player. This writer predicts the final score of this game to be Browns 27, Falcons 14.